On behalf of the Netherlands Institute of Navigation, I unfortunately have the sad duty to report the following.We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Jac Spaans, co-founder, former President (1987-2004) and Honorary Member of the Netherlands Institute of Navigation.

Jac was a Professor Emeritus in Navigation Technology at Delft University of Technology. During his distinguished career he also worked as a Professor at the Royal Naval College and as a Special Professor at Nottingham University, U.K.

He was also active for many years in numerous international organisations such as the European Group of Institutes of Navigation (as EUGIN Chairman) and the International Association of Institutes of Navigation (as IAIN President).

In 2004 he was appointed Officer in the royal Order of Orange-Naussau for his contributions to navigation science and applications. In the same year, Jac was elected Honorary Member of the Netherlands Institute of Navigation.

With Jac, the navigation world loses an extraordinary talented leader who was an inspiration to many. We wish his family, friends and all those close to him a lot of strength.

Prof em ‘Capt’ Jac Spaans
2 August 1935 – 13 June 2022